I have known Amanda Tress, the creator and CEO of “Faster Way to Fat Loss” program for MANY years! I did online boot camps with her and she even helped me with branding my blog from Crafts-n-fitness to EmpowerMoms.
I was aware of her program she developed years ago called “Faster Way to Fat Loss” but I was dragging my feet because I didn’t think it would work for me.
WHY??
I was worried that because of my diet (being mostly gluten free and dairy free) and my activity level of being a group fitness instructor; that it wouldn’t work with what they expected me to do with their meal plans and workouts. I was also worried “intermittent fasting” meant I would go long periods without eating which would then give me brain fog, no energy and possibly an eating disorder down the road. $199 for a 6 week program is a big deal so I didn’t want to waste the money and not be 100% fully committed. I’m telling you my reasons why I waited for long, because after I started the program, I realized my reasons weren’t valid at all!
I saw a post back in April that Amanda was offering a $50 discount for fellow fitness professionals (ME!) so I decided to jump on board which also meant the 6 weeks would be up right before my 39th birthday. My goal is to get the rest of this weight off before my 40th birthday and nothing has worked so far. I count calories, I exercise (strength training and cardio) I sleep, I try to manage my stress … I don’t know what I’ve been doing wrong and in the past year I’ve even gained weight which I haven’t done in a long time since I started my fitness journey. So I’ve been super discouraged lately about my weight gain and how my clothes fit.
I officially started the program on Monday April 19th for week 1 which was called “Prep Week”. I found a CERTIFIED FWTFL coach online who I felt I had things in common with and when I signed up, I put her name on my form. She has been awesome to contact me weekly to see how I’m doing. I also get daily posts in the Facebook group and emails.
The Faster Way To Fat Loss APP is where its at! Everything I need to succeed is right there! The meal plans, macro guides, exercises, daily posts, etc. So this program can be done without Facebook and social media as long as you download the FWTFL app! (They have a different one for the VIP program after 6 weeks)
So for me personally I decided to jump in feet first into week 1 instead of using it as prep week. I’m familiar with logging food into MyFitnessPal so I did as much research for week 1 as I could ahead of time and then followed the macro cycle which was introducing “regular macro day” and “low carb days”.
Macro counting is counting macronutrients (not calories) which are protein, fats and carbs. They also stress the importance of being dairy free and gluten free which I try to do anyway so that wasn’t a shock for me. The first couple days were harder than I thought adjusting to different eating strategies but overall, I thought I did really good!
For the first 4 weeks, “regular macro days” and “low carb days” were the only 2 eating strategies that we experimented with. I quickly discovered the best way for ME to be successful was to plan 2 days worth of food at the same time and log all my food BEFORE I eat it. I did a lot better with my fat and protein grams than I did my carbs. I also seemed to be under my carbs but I felt satisfied.
For week 5 I also tried “Feast Day” and “24 hour fast” strategies.
I wasn’t honestly a fan of either of those days honestly…I understood the importance of fueling my body before fasting, however I didn’t like eating for the sake of eating to get my nutrients in and not because I was hungry. My macros were increased by 25% which wasn’t alot but still alot of food to eat in an 8 or 9 hour window. Because of that though, I felt more successful with my 24 hour fast which started at 715pm on a Wednesday night and went thru 715pm Thursday night. I did GREAT for the first 20 hours and after that I felt major brain fog at work. No headache or lack of energy which was surprising. So in the future, although I have done 24 hour fasts before; when I have to work or teach, I will stick with a 20 hour fast. I also felt great the next day so I was happy about that. I was worried I would be really low on energy but I wasn’t.
For week 6, I also tried “Mod Carb day” and “Low Macro day”.
Mod carb day is super easy for me because basically regular macro day is like mod carb day because I never reach my carbs goal. and I’m not going to eat just for the sake of getting a number by the end of the day.
Low macro day was eating 25% less than I typically would in a day. Still better than fasting and very doable!
I’ve been sharing a lot of my experiences and food pics on IG and IG stories over the past 6 weeks if you’re interested in looking at that.
Every week the regular and vegan meal guide link was emailed to me or I could download it from the app. I would look it over each week but I didn’t really follow it like I thought I would. I like to eat the same stuff over and over and don’t need much variety. The couple recipes that I tried, I wasn’t impressed with unfortunately. I do like the concept of the meal plan ideas so I hope to try more recipes in the future. My goal for the next 6 weeks will be to try at least one of their recipes per week.
I am very simple when it comes to preparing dinners, specifically protein and vegetables. I discovered an AMAZING website called: https://www.eatingbirdfood.com/ and used ALOT of her recipes for snacks and breakfasts during the challenge.
I lost exactly 10 pounds from day 1 to end of week 6. They say not to weigh and let the scale be a part of your journey which I agree with TO A CERTAIN DEGREE. However, when you are overweight like I am, I feel that weighing myself ONCE a week keeps and holds me accountable to my food choices. I don’t obsess about it and I don’t weigh myself daily. But I still feel that weighing and measuring is important for progress and determining whether that program is working for you. So I am REALLY pleased with my progress so far!!
April 19-May 30
Lost 10 total pounds (exactly!).
Lost 2 inches off my right thigh.
lost 2 inches off my left thigh.
lost 2.5 inches off my bust.
lost 1 inch off my waist.
Calves and hips stayed the same.
I found that practicing “intermittent fasting” which is a fancy word for eating all your food in a certain window of time (for me 11am-7pm) was ALOT easier for me to practice AND it broke my habit of mindlessly snacking in the evenings when I read. Which was awesome! I felt like my body responded to the different macro days obviously well with the weight loss, inches lost, and the bloating feeling gone. I felt like I didn’t have that constant bloated look in my abs/stomach and face. I felt more successful as the weeks went by and proud of myself for making the time for my food planning and cooking.
Like I mentioned before; I teach group fitness classes 4-5 times per week so I only did FWTFL workouts maybe once a week from their app. I liked the variety of what they offered but I didn’t usually have the extra time to do then. When I DID do the workouts, I enjoyed doing them from off my printed exercises sheet and going at my own pace instead of following the video from the app. In my opinion, I felt like the trainers doing reps (12 pushups for example) instead of time (20 seconds of pushups) pushed me way too fast which I feel can lead to bad form and injury. That’s just my opinion as a certified group fitness instructor of 6 years.
Why do I feel like this program worked for me?
I followed the nutrition strategies part of this program! I put in the work and did my meal planning and worked hard every day to meet those specific macro grams so I could fuel my body with proper nutrients. I didn’t cheat or go off the program. I did have my special weekly treat and was satisfied with that. I made this program a priority and non negotiable for me. and I’m proud of myself because I made it a lifestyle nutrition change these past 6 weeks even with a crazy busy life right now. THIS PROGRAM GAVE ME HOPE! I haven’t felt that in a long time with a nutrition program and seeing results with inches lost and weight loss.
So what’s next for me??
This week starts week 7 so I will transition to the VIP program. I can’t wait to see what it’s like and taking my nutrition to the next level! Depending on finances, I will stay with the VIP program thru the summer and reevaluate in August. I feel like this program is and can be, a lifestyle for me and not just a 6 week or summer only program.
Because I’m excited about this program and continuing my progress using the tools and strategies I’ve learned; I applied to be a FWTFL AMBASSADOR (not a certified coach) which simply means anytime I share my program link with you and you purchase a product from their shop or any upcoming 6 week program; I get a small commission.
As you know, I NEVER recommend a product without trying it and loving it first! If I don’t love it, than I don’t recommend it or become an ambassador for that company. Which is why my list of companies that I represent are very small. My integrity is more important to me than pretending to like a program or product for a buck.
So if you’ve gotten this far and you’re interested in learning more about The Faster Way to Far Loss program; you can go here to get more info and to sign up with my referral link: https://www.fasterwaycoach.com/#RachelDeVaughn
DOWNLOAD THIS 3 DAY MEAL PLAN AND BELLY FAT CHECKLIST to give you a little taste of the program.
You CAN burn belly fat and keep it off for good, and it all starts with small, easy-to-do steps you can start doing today.
https://www.fasterwaycoach.com/bellyfatguide#RachelDeVaughn
Let me know if you have any questions and stay tuned for my blog post next month about the start of my VIP summer shred 6 week program I’m starting on June 7th. and Don’t forget to follow me on IG for daily fitness and nutrition posts.
Fitness, Family & Book blogger. Certified Group Fitness Instructor, Active Aging and Silver Sneakers Coach. Walking Coach. Certified Nutrition Coach. Teaching fitness classes for all levels of fitness and ages since 2015. ✨Empower & Inspire✨
